British Museum to host British Film Institute Science Fiction event

Flash Gordon Film Poster

 

The British Film Institute’s science fiction blockbuster project “Days of Fear and Wonder” will blast off from the forecourt of the British Museum in spectacular style in August, with a trilogy of science fiction classics screening over three successive nights, including the comic strip-inspired 1980 film Flash Gordon.

Following the sold-out screenings presented at the British Museum with the BFI Gothic Blockbuster in 2013 and the Hitchcock launch the year before, the BFI returns with a trio of classic Sci-Fi film treats: Flash Gordon, a restored version of The Day the Earth Caught Fire and The Man Who Fell to Earth starring David Bowie, to be shown over Thursday 28th to Saturday 30th August.

british-musuem-bfi-sf-eventThe historic grounds of the British Museum will be transformed for the series of big screen events over the August Bank Holiday weekend, which will see the three SF classics projected onto a huge, state-of-the-art screen – the BFI’s biggest outdoor screen to date at the British Museum – and will be accompanied by a stellar sound system, thrilling audiences of up to 1,200 each night.

Each evening the out-of-this-world entertainment will be accompanied by special guests and the opportunity for viewers to participate in the terrestrial fun. On Thursday 28 August the earth will be unhinged from its axis with the screening of London-set classic, The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961). Friday will see an attempt inter-galactic contact with The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), starring David Bowie as a stranded alien, and the weekend will conclude with a cult classic as we venture to planet Mongo on Saturday 30th August with Flash Gordon (1980) which features many British actors, including Timothy Dalton and Brian Blessed.

These extra special outdoor screenings provide a curtain-raiser for the Fear and Wonder to come in the BFI’s UK-wide Sci-Fi focus, launching in October and running until December. This major film season, in cinemas and online on BFI Player, presented in partnership across the UK with the BFI’s Film Audience Network, features over one hundred film and television titles.

Heather Stewart, BFI Creative Director said: “Across literature, television and of course film, the UK has blazed a science fiction trail and played a central role in cinema’s most enduring and popular genre – from science fiction’s origins with writer HG Wells, to our time-travelling television hero Doctor Who, to the latest instalment of Star Wars shooting right now at Pinewood.

“Science fiction reveals our hopes and fears for the future, lets us makes contact with the Cosmos, and takes us on a fantastical journey to the limits of our humanity – we’re excited to open up new worlds of SF film for audiences across the UK, and this spectacular event at the British Museum is the perfect curtain-raiser to our autumn blockbuster.”

The Day the Earth Caught Fire film poster

WORLD PREMIERE NEW RESTORATION: THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE
20.15-22.30, Thursday 28 August

A Fleet Street journalist (Edward Judd) investigates the world’s increasingly ferocious weather conditions and discovers that the Earth has been knocked off its axis by extensive nuclear testing. Is the Earth doomed? Aided by a vivid depiction of the world of newspaper journalism, and extensive location shooting on the streets of London, director Val Guest delivers one of the best of all British SF films and the chilling scenes of a deserted London rival those in 28 Days Later.

The Black Box Club web site notes that The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a personal project mounted by director Val Guest, best known within the genre for the first two Quatermass films. Guest found some difficulty mounting the project and eventually ended up financing it in part with his own money.

UK 1961. Dir Val Guest. With Janet Munro, Edward Judd and Leo McKern. 99min. Cert PG
Courtesy of BFI Distribution
Event and BFI National Archive restoration generously supported by Simon W. Hessel

Allegedly, The typeface from the poster  for The Man Who Fell to Earth inspired the logo of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

Allegedly, the typeface from the poster for The Man Who Fell to Earth inspired the logo of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH
20.15-23.00, Friday 29 August
An alien, stranded on Earth while on a mission to find water for his own world, initiates a plan to amass a fortune in order to fund a space programme that will help him return to his home planet. David Bowie’s impressive performance, in his first major screen role (and clearly building on his other-worldly public persona), helped, in tandem with Roeg’s mesmerising direction, to turn this into a cult film.
UK 1976. Dir Nicolas Roeg. With Rip Torn, Candy Clark, Buck Henry. 138min, Cert 18
Courtesy of STUDIOCANAL and Park Circus Films

DAZZLING DIGITAL TRANSFER: FLASH GORDON

20:15 – 22:30, Sat 30 August
Alex Raymond’s popular comic strip character bounds on to the screen to heroically save the Earth from the hissable villainy of Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow on splendid form), ruthless ruler of the planet Mongo. Mike Hodges directs with verve and wit, Queen provide the memorable score and Fellini’s frequent collaborator, Danilo Donati, provides costume and set designs that ravish the eye. And not forgetting Brian Blessed with wings!
UK 1980. Dir Mike Hodges. With Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Timothy Dalton. 107min, Cert PG
Courtesy of STUDIOCANAL and Park Circus Films

Tickets and booking details:

Thursday 5th June: BFI Members and Patrons priority booking opens at 11.30 am. Public booking opens on Friday at 11.30am. Each film £15, no concessions. Joint ticket (all 3 screenings) £39. Book through the BFI: http://bfi.org.uk/sci-fi or 020 7928 3232

• SCI-FI: DAYS OF FEAR AND WONDER will run from October – December 2014 with a UK-wide programme of film and DVD releases, special screenings, events, guests and more. Details of the full programme, including screenings, events, film and DVD releases, special guests and more will be revealed on Thursday 17th July at BFI Southbank.



Categories: Events, Film, Other Worlds

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